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    • Thanks for all the suggestions so far I will amend original WS and send again for review.  While looking at my post at very beginning when I submitted photos of signs around the car park I noticed that it says 5 hours maximum stay while the signage sent by solicitor shows 4 hours maximum stay but mine is related to electric bay abuse not sure if this can be of any use in WS.
    • Not sure what to make of that or what it means for me, I was just about to head to my kip and it's a bit too late for legalise. When is the "expenditure occured"?  When they start spending money to write to me?  Or is this a bad thing (as "harsh" would imply)? When all is said and done, I do not have two beans to rub together, we rent our home and EVERYTHING of value has been purchased by and is in my wife's name and we are not financially linked in any way.  So at least if I can't escape my fate I can at least know that they will get sweet FA from me anyway   edit:  ah.. Sophia Harrison: Time bar decision tough on claimants WWW.SCOTTISHLEGAL.COM Time bar is a very complex area of law in Scotland relating to the period in which a claim for breach of duty can be pursued. The Scottish government...   This explains it like I am 5.  So, a good thing then because creditors clearly know they have suffered a loss the minute I stop paying them, this is why it is "harsh" (for them, not me)? Am I understanding this correctly?  
    • urm......exactly what you filed .....read it carefully... it puts them to strict proof to prove the debt is enforceable, so thus 'holds' their claim till they coughup or not and discontinue. you need to get readingthose threads i posted so you understand. then you'll know whats maybe next how to react or not and whats after that. 5-10 threads a day INHO. dont ever do anything without checking here 1st.
    • I've done a new version including LFI's suggestions.  I've also change the order to put your strongest arguments first.  Where possible the changes are in red.  The numbering is obviously knackered.  Methinks stuff about the consideration period could be added but I'm too tired now.  See what you think. Background  1.1  The Defendant received the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) on the 06th of November 2020 following the vehicle being parked at Arla Old Dairy, South Ruislip on the 05th of December 2019.  Unfair PCN  4.1  On XXXXX the Defendant sent the Claimant's solicitors a CPR request.  As shown in Exhibit 1 (pages 7-13) the solicitors helpfully sent photos of 46 signs in their evidence all  clearly showing a £60.00 parking charge notice (which will  be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days of issue).  There can be no room for doubt here - there are 46 signs produced in the Claimant's own evidence. 4.2  Yet the PCN affixed to the vehicle was for a £100.00 parking charge notice (reduced to £60 if paid promptly).  The reminder letters from the Claimant again all demanded £100. 4.3        The Claimant relies on signage to create a contract.  It is unlawful for the Claimant to write that the charge is £60 on their signs and then send demands for £100.   4.4        The unlawful £100 charge is also the basis for the Claimant's Particulars of Claim. No Locus Standi 2.1  I do not believe a contract exists with the landowner that gives MET Parking Services a right to bring claims in their own name. Definition of “Relevant contract” from the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4,  2 [1] means a contract Including a contract arising only when the vehicle was parked on the relevant land between the driver and a person who is-  (a) the owner or occupier of the land; or  (b) Authorised, under or by virtue of arrangements made by the owner or occupier of the land, to enter into a contract with the driver requiring the payment of parking charges in respect of the parking of the vehicle on the land. According to https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/44  For a contract to be valid, it requires a director from each company to sign and then two independent witnesses must confirm those signatures.  2.2  The Defendant requested to see such a contract in the CPR request.  The contract produced was largely illegible and heavily redacted, and the fact that it contained no witness signatures present means the contract has not been validly executed. Therefore, there can be no contract established between MET Parking Services and the motorist. Even if “No Parking in Electric Bay” could form a contract (which it cannot), it is immaterial. There is no valid contract. Illegal Conduct – No Contract Formed  3.1 At the time of writing, the Claimant has failed to provide proof of planning permission granted for signage etc under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Lack of planning permission is a criminal offence under this Act and no contract can be formed where criminality is involved.  3.4        I also do not believe the claimant possesses this document.  No Keeper Liability  5.1        The defendant was not the driver at the time and date mentioned in the PCN and the claimant has not established keeper liability under schedule 4 of the PoFA 2012. In this matter, the defendant puts it to the claimant to produce strict proof as to who was driving at the time.  5.2 The claimant in their Notice To Keeper also failed to comply with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 section 9[2][f] while mentioning “the right to recover from the keeper so much of that parking charge as remains unpaid” where they did not include statement “(if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met)”.    5.3        The claimant did not mention the parking period instead only mentioned time 20:25 which is not sufficient to qualify as a parking period.   Protection of Freedoms Act 2012  The notice must -  (a) specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates; 22. In the persuasive judgement K4GF167G - Premier Park Ltd v Mr Mathur - Horsham County Court – 5 January 2024 it was on this very point that the judge dismissed this claim. 5.4  A the PCN does not comply with the Act the Defendant as keeper is not liable.   Interest 6.2  It is unreasonable for the Claimant to delay litigation for four years in order to add excessive interest. Double Recovery  7.1  The claim is littered with made-up charges. 7.2  As noted above, the Claimant's signs state a £60 charge yet their PCN is for £100. 7.3  As well as the £100 parking charge, the Claimant seeks recovery of an additional £70.  This is simply a poor attempt to circumvent the legal costs cap at small claims. 29. Since 2019, many County Courts have considered claims in excess of £100 to be an abuse of process leading to them being struck out ab initio. An example, in the Caernarfon Court in VCS v Davies, case No. FTQZ4W28 on 4th September 2019, District Judge Jones-Evans stated “Upon it being recorded that District Judge Jones- Evans has over a very significant period of time warned advocates (...) in many cases of this nature before this court that their claim for £60 is unenforceable in law and is an abuse of process and is nothing more than a poor attempt to go behind the decision of the Supreme Court v Beavis which inter alia decided that a figure of £160 as a global sum claimed in this case would be a penalty and not a genuine pre-estimate of loss and therefore unenforceable in law and if the practise continued, he would treat all cases as a claim for £160 and therefore a penalty and unenforceable in law it is hereby declared (…) the claim is struck out and declared to be wholly without merit and an abuse of process.” 30. In Claim Nos. F0DP806M and F0DP201T, District Judge Taylor echoed earlier General Judgment or Orders of District Judge Grand, stating ''It is ordered that the claim is struck out as an abuse of process. The claim contains a substantial charge additional to the parking charge which it is alleged the Defendant contracted to pay. This additional charge is not recoverable under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 nor with reference to the judgment in Parking Eye v Beavis. It is an abuse of process from the Claimant to issue a knowingly inflated claim for an additional sum which it is not entitled to recover. This order has been made by the court of its own initiative without a hearing pursuant to CPR Rule 3.3(4)) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998...'' 31. In the persuasive case of G4QZ465V - Excel Parking Services Ltd v Wilkinson – Bradford County Court -2 July 2020 (Exhibit 4) the judge had decided that Excel had won. However, due to Excel adding on the £60 the Judge dismissed the case. 7.7        The addition of costs not previously specified on signage are also in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 2, specifically paras 6, 10 and 14.  7.8        It is the Defendant’s position that the Claimant in this case has knowingly submitted inflated costs and thus the entire claim should be similarly struck out in accordance with Civil Procedure Rule 3.3(4).  In Conclusion  8.1        I invite the court to dismiss the claim. Statement of Truth I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth. 
    • Scottish time bar: Scottish appeal court re-affirms the “harsh” rule (cms-lawnow.com)  
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      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

      One of the points that the judge made was that the customers contract with the broker specifically refers to the courier – and it is clear that the courier knows that they are acting for a third party. There is no need to name the third party. They just have to be recognisably part of a class of person – such as a sender or a recipient of the parcel.

      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

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      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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At wits end


looby0204
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I received a letter re housing benefit last week to say I have been overpaid. Couple of days later I receive another to say they want to interview me under caution to find out why I have been overpaid. I phoned the council as I was in a complete state, they said it is because the figure is over a certain amount and needs to be questioned. I have racked my brains and the only thing I can come up with is that my tax code changed during the year, so if they use net wage and not gross wage (as I thought they did), this would be the reason why.

 

I am totally distraught, my job will rest on the outcome and then inturn I will lose the roof over my head as I wont be able to afford it. Im not eating or sleeping, Im ratty with the kids and cant stop crying and still have until the 4th Feb before I attend the interview. I just dont know how I am going to get through...

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Hello there and welcome to CAG.

 

This is probably nowhere near as serious as you think. We see it all the time here and often there's a simple explanation. You just need to tell the truth and co-operate. There don't seem to be many people on the forum this evening, but I'm sure you'll get some more answers. And you could have a read of other threads and see how other people have coped and what advice they've been given.

 

It's not going to ruin your life and you're by no means the only person this is happening to.

 

Have you talked to the CAB? That's another option you have.

 

You're going to be OK, hang on until people with more knowledge than me turn up.

 

HB x

Illegitimi non carborundum

 

 

 

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Thank you for your reply honeybee. Dont know how much more stress I can deal with though. Im a single mum work hard to support my family, studying to try and better myself, had a cancer scare last year, mum was very ill in hospital and now suffers severe depression. Apologies for the whinging but I am so scared..

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Don't apologise, we're here to help. You'll get more replies and people will explain the system to you. If you did nothing wrong, there really isn't much to worry about.

 

Do your best to keep it in perspective, difficult I know, but what does panicking achieve and hang on for more replies.

 

HB x

Illegitimi non carborundum

 

 

 

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Thank you. Things now seem worse, been going through my payslips from the last year and there are a couple with extra income and I completely forgot to inform them. Now they definitely will wipe the floor with me. Hardly slept last night, had a dreadful day today, can things get any worse. x

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I understand that you're worried, but I'm pretty sure that getting a housing benefit overpayment doesn't mean you lose your job. Take things one step at a time. Go to the interview, give all the info they've asked for, and answer all questions truthfully. It may then take them weeks or months to decide if you've been overpaid and by how much. If you're found to have been overpaid, find a welfare rights adviser who specialises in benefits to check its been calulated correctly. It may well be that you have a small overpayment and they just take it back weekly from your current housing benefit award. Its a long process and staying this anxious for weeks or months won't do you or your children any good.

 

Firstly, to see what the scope of the overpayment might be, add up what you don't think you declared (so anything over and above what they're taking into account).

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I understand that you're worried, but I'm pretty sure that getting a housing benefit overpayment doesn't mean you lose your job.

 

Hi leemack,

 

If you work for Sheffield city council, and you claim Housing benefit and council tax benefit, and they decide that a claim was fraudulent, they WILL dismiss you for it.

 

At the point when the benefits team raise a possible overpayment with you (i.e. without any claim of fraud), they also have a track record of being very nasty about it, making it clear that they consider your job is at risk. A very stressful experience. I know one instance where a fraudulent claim was put in by a employees partner without his knowledge as revenge for his infidelity. He was sacked for it on the basis that he had benefited from it.

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I said overpayment NOT fraud, there's a difference between an overpayment and fraud, and putting someone's job at risk because of an overpayment is asking for a visit to an employment tribunal. 50% of the overpayments I've seen are due to errors on the part of the LA - some of which are difficult to prove - for instance a client posted their paperwork in and received back a plain compliments slip with the returned documents. The LA claimed never to have received the documents and said that all their employees would never make a mistake and forget to stamp the compliments slip (yeah, sure).

 

looby, what type of work do you do? Do you work for the council? If not unless you end up with a fraud conviction, your employer won't know if you have an overpayment. If you work for the council, and get an overpayment but don't get found to be fraudulent, get yourself a good employment adviser to argue your case.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I work for the prison service which just makes everything so much worse, work have been notified by myself and are being very supportive. Have done some calculations not that Im clever at working out their workings and it looks like the overpayment might be in the region of £1200.

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Why don't you use http://www.entitledto.co.uk and enetr your details to see what you are entitled to regarding benefits. You cna do it on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. if you want to do it weekly, then each time instead of starting from the beginning, just go to the income page and work forward again. A bit tiresome but at least it will give you an idea if there has a been an overpayment. It is easy to forget to update them if you get an extra £20 in your pay packet and I doubt if they will look on it as fraud. Have a good night's sleep..

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I wish it was an odd £20, its a lot more than that and it was back pay for some work I had done earlier in the year. They have told me I have been overpaid £775 but then when going through paperwork, I realised I hadnt informed them of the increase in income for a couple of months, so working on the basis of what they told me I had been over paid, the figure has come out about £1200 (my working out). I have all wage slips, bank statements and tax credit awards to take with me on Friday (4th). Ive got nothing to hide, completely understand that they need to interview me about this. It wasnt until I sent in payslips in December for review and the received the letter for overpayment did I even think about it

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thank you leemack, really appreciate your response.. Just had a work colleague on the phone and have been told off, Im fearing the worst, ie I will go to jail, lose my job etc etc and she said that Im completely throwing this out of the water, I have made a genuine mistake and that Im beating myself up so much over it. Dont know what I would do without my frends and forums like this x

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That's why i email my wage slip every month to the benefits office. I have been hit for an over payment before and it was a nightmare, then when i was eligable again i decided to keep them updated each month.

 

Some advisors reply saying i donlt have too but my wages are never exactly the same each month so i just advise them i am happy to continue on a monthly basis. It does mean the maounts differ each month but at lease i know they are updated.

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Hello

New on here but do have some experience ith overpayments. I have accompained lots of people who have been asked in for and interview under caution. It is a bit scarey as the tape the whole interview but they have always been very nice to my clients and tried to reassure anyone who was nervous etc. They will present the facts to you and ask for an explaination. This then goes to a decision maker who decides the outcome. It really is a small amount compared to others and i really do feel you have nothing to worry about. They will ask you to pay the money back and you can negotiate who much etc.

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It went ok. The investigator came and had a chat with me in the waiting area before I went in for the taped interview and told me not to worry everything will be ok. I had my friend in with me and he asked questions about my claim and that I had had an increase in income and was my responsibility to inform them straight away, which I had totally forgot to do. After the interview he said that I had been totally honest and held my hands up. It will take up to 6 months to get the outcome, He is 95% sure I will just get a caution, if not a 30% penalty. His last words to me were, go away eat a decent meal, get some sleep and move on.

 

After the interview I should have been less stressed and upset, but I had to come home ring the vet and take my cat to be put down, total devastation. I dont ever want another day like February 4th 2011 again xx

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Hi

 

I would like to say thank you to all who have helped me via this forum over the last few traumatic weeks. Went for my interview under caution 4th Feb, was told it would take up to 6 months before I heard anything, looked like I was going to get a caution or a penalty. Had a message on my phone on my return from work on Monday(7th) to say could I call my investegator. It was late so I called him tuesday, I was informed that they are going to give me a warning, received the letter this morning - case closed. What a relief. So to all of you worrying like mad, Im not going to say dont worry cos you will but there is hope. Thank you once again xx

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That's good news, glad you updated the thread, had been reading it for the last week or so. I got my overpayment letter today saying I owe 1200, my compliance officer had told me over the phone on wednesday what it was & said she has had a word with the woman that does the interviews under caution & explained how she could see how shocked I was when she told me how much less they had me down for earnign per month & because it is my first job since being on income support, I didn't realise it was up to me to provide 2 payslips, I didn't realise they work it out on payslips, I thought the fact I had given them my work contract was enough to work out my benefit.

Trouble is I still think something is amiss, when I input my up to date weekly wages into the benefits calculator on line, it's not adding up.

I am still waiting for my award letter that tells me what I need to pay towards my rent, & i'll get my dad to have a look at it, but at the moment I am thinking there will be more overpayment then I will be taken to court.

I just want out now, it's too much :-(

Doc gave me Diazapam last week because I was thinking I would get taken to court. But he will only give me 9 days worth & said I cant be on it longer than that. If I have to go to court I am worried I wont be able to face that, & I worry about my children & what will happen to them.

I didn't even have to go back to work when I did, I was getting bored at home, but I so wish I had not bothered now :| when you're on income support it's all sorted out for you.

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